COUNCILLORS have branded the consultation for a multi-billion pound infrastructure plan as "inadequate" as they vowed to fight for the best deal for their town.
Criticism was levelled at National Grid by Barrow councillors over the poor quality of the consultation period held for the North West Coast Connections project.
The consultation has run since November but members of the council's executive committee said there was too little information provided in too short a space of time.
Council leader, Councillor Dave Pidduck, said: "I think it is absolutely through our officer's diligence in producing this report, that has shown up a number of areas councillors need answers to, and we will be vigorously pursuing this.
"It is surprising that there is a national project this size - providing one-seventh of the energy for the country - that there is an attempt to condense it down.
"We aren't anti-National Grid. We want to be supportive of what's going on but they need to know what our concerns are."
During their consultation, National Grid outlined its plan to connect the Moorside Power Plant to the rest of the UK's electricity network.
The company has proposed a combination of high-voltage pylons and underground tunnels to carry electricity from the west coast, through the Lake District to Lancaster.
However, the committee felt the information provided by National Grid was not good enough, and they would make this very clear to the energy giant.
Councillor Brendan Sweeney said: "We would be mindful to put it in when the time comes in April that the consultation was inadequate."
Cllr Pidduck added: "I assume we all have the same gut feeling that I've got, that we've got some big parts (of the consultation) that seem not quite right."
One of the many failings pointed out to the council in the consultation were photomontages designed to illustrate the proposed route of 400kV and 132kV pylons through the area.
It concluded the photos could be misrepresented when examined by consultees.
It said: "These [the photos] are sporadic and often do not provide important views. The photomontages do not appear to illustrate any other works apart from the 400kV line and proposed ceiling end compounds.
"There are instances where proposed 132kV lines are not shown on the photomontages, which leads to a misrepresentation of the potential views afforded in some locations."
Councillors said the proposals' shortcomings had galvanised them into ensuring they get the best deal possible for Barrow and the surrounding area.
Cllr Alan Pemberton said: "I think overall this is an ideal opportunity for this town and we must try to fight for every benefit to get out of it. I think we've got to maximise the plan of action and get the most we can out of this project. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this area."
Consultation for the project will end on Friday, with National Grid expected to submit a formal proposal in April.
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